1997 CHEVROLET MALIBU air

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GM -
GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem and the
name MALIBU are registered trademarks of
General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in
the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motors
of Canada Limited” for Chevrolet
Motor Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual in your Chevrolet,
so it will be
there if you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the new
owner can
use it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 10288097 A First Edition
r
EA
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriCtaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplaire de ce guide en frangais chez
votre concessionaire
ou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5T 1C7
@Copyright Genzral Motors Corporation 1996
All Rights Reserved
ii

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Section 1 Seats and Seat Restraints
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Chevrol\
et and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should
not do with air bags and safety belts.
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1-2
1-3
1-4
1-5
1-8 1-11
1-12 1-15 Seats and Controls
Manual Seats
Power Seats
Reclining Front Seatbacks
Rear Seats
Why Safety Belts Work
Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster 1-20
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1-30
1-34
1-36
1-37
1-47
1-47 1-47 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Questions and Answers About Air Bags Safety Belt Comfort Guides
How to Use Child Restraints
Important Information for Buckling Children in Child Restraints
Child Restraint Top Straps
How to Obtain a Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Parts After a Crash
1-1
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not
do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(S ;), or air bag system.
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be
if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too.
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed.
Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle
is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine .. .
or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
@ Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside
down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
@ If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has
air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially
in side and other collisions.
wear safety belts?
1-11

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt
is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to malung
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position,”\

earlier
in this section.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system.
Your Chevrolet has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger. Here are
the most important things
to know about the air
bag system:
‘ A CAUTION:
--- - I
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during
a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints’’ to the safety
belts. All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’t replace them. Air bags are
designed to work only in moderate to severe
crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to inflate at all
in rollover, rear, side
or low-speed frontal
crashes. Everyone in your vehicle should wear
a
safety belt properly -- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink
of an eye. If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags, The driver should
sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
An inflating
air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle. To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which shows the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light”
in the Index
for more information.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How the Air Bag System Works
E
I The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel on the passenger’s side.
Where are the air bags?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When should an air bag inflate?
If something is between an occupant and an air
bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person. The path
of an inflating air bag must be kept clear, Don’t
put anything between an occupant and an air
bag, and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering.
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash. The air bag
will inflate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 km/h). The threshold level
can
vary, however, with speci€ic vehicle design, so that
it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your
vehicle strikes something that will move
or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
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